Inquiry on Stuttering in Italy: characteristics of the public service (regarding university education and health care) and characteristics of logopedic practice

In Italy, the diagnosis and treatment of stuttering is not included in the «essential levels of care» (Italian: «LEA») guaranteed everywhere by National Health System, although regions are able to devote their own resources to the issue. Possible inadequacies of the Italian welfare, academic, and research institutions could be both the cause and the effect of a very confused legal framework for the professions involved. Consequently, we set out to investigate these inadequacies through the use of three questionnaires. Two questionnaires were submitted online to almost all relevant Italian public services and universities with courses potentially involved addressing stuttering. The third questionnaire focusing on speech therapists' practices and materials was sent to more than 190 logopedists. Results confirm a problematic Italian situation for both the training of future speech therapists on disfluencies and access to public health services for the person who stutters (PWS). In addition, there is a shortage of etiological and clinical research and of evidence-based (EB) treatment programs and clinical materials